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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20579

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In RadioImpl::setCdmaBroadcastConfig of ril_service_legacy.cpp, there is a possible stack clash leading to memory corruption. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-243510139References: N/A

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

A stack clash vulnerability exists in RadioImpl::setCdmaBroadcastConfig in ril_service_legacy.cpp where improper buffer handling in the Radio Interface Layer allows a stack buffer to overflow and corrupt adjacent stack memory, potentially enabling a local attacker with System privileges to escalate to higher privileges through memory corruption.

MitigationApply vendor-provided Android security patches addressing A-243510139; if unavailable, audit and add proper bounds checking around all stack buffers in setCdmaBroadcastConfig and related RIL functions, and consider enabling stack canaries.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AndroidOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Android RIL component presence
    Check if /vendor/lib64/libril*.so or /system/lib64/libril*.so exists on the device. This library contains the Radio Interface Layer where the vulnerability resides.
    Affected if The libril shared library exists on the device - the vulnerable code path is present in the RIL implementation.
  2. Confirm ril_service_legacy.cpp compiled into RIL
    Inspect the libril.so or librilutils.so library for the presence of 'setCdmaBroadcastConfig' symbol using 'strings <library> | grep setCdmaBroadcastConfig' or nm command if available.
    Affected if The setCdmaBroadcastConfig function symbol is found in the RIL library, indicating the vulnerable code is compiled into the deployed RIL.
  3. Check if CDMA broadcast feature is enabled
    Examine /system/etc/permissions/android.hardware.telephony.gsm.xml or /vendor/etc/permissions/*.xml for CDMA broadcast-related permissions, or check if the device has CDMA capability via 'getprop | grep -i cdma'.
    Affected if The device supports CDMA and has the broadcast configuration feature available - this is the attack surface for the overflow.
  4. Verify RIL daemon runs with elevated privileges
    Check RIL daemon process privileges via 'ps -A | grep rild' and review SELinux context; the vulnerability requires System-level privileges to exploit.
    Affected if The rild process runs with System privileges (not isolated), enabling the privilege escalation path described in the CVE.

A device is affected if it runs any Android version with the Radio Interface Layer containing the setCdmaBroadcastConfig function and supports CDMA broadcast functionality, since exploitation requires System privileges access to trigger the stack buffer overflow.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-provided Android security patches addressing A-243510139; if unavailable, audit and add proper bounds checking around all stack buffers in setCdmaBroadcastConfig and related RIL functions, and consider enabling stack canaries.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android Security Patch Level January 2023 or later (contact device manufacturer for specific update availability)

  1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device in Settings > About Phone > Android version or Settings > Security > Security update
  2. Update the device to the latest available Android security update. For this vulnerability, the fix was released in the January 2023 Android Security Bulletin (or later)
  3. Verify after update that the security patch level includes the fix for Android ID A-243510139
  4. If the device manufacturer has not released an update containing this fix, consider upgrading to a device model that receives regular security updates
Caveat Ensure device is backed up before applying system updates; some older devices may not receive this specific security patch

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-20579 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data